How long do you give a book that’s not catching your attention?
How long do you give a book that’s not catching your attention?
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How long do you give a book that’s not catching your attention?
I give it 50 pages. Less if it’s not catching my attention
My ? budget is small so I hate to give up!
@Julie, I hear ya
If budget is tight, try your local library. Best investment I made was to get a library card. If you have a Kindle, you can get some great free ebooks.
I start it and then put it away for awhile and give it another try
Thanks I’ll try that!
I’ve tried that several times and end up loving it ☺
I try to do 100 pgs, but something has to catch me. A character or a storyline. I have ended a book with just 2 chapters, but usually I try to give the book more of a chance.
50 to 100 pages. I used to never give up read everything. Not now. Way to many books to read now days.
Not all books are a match for us. I give it a couple of chapters – or if listening to an audio book – the first CD. If it isn’t entertaining me, then I move on.
It depends but mostly 50 pages. Too many other books out there that I want to read to waste my time.
I’ll get about a third of the way and start reading every other page. If it hasn’t grabbed me by half way I move on to another book.
I’ll put it down for a day,try again…ask if anyone has read it…get their opinion.THE HELP was that book for me….got it before it became sooooooooo huge…it took me a long time to really get into it. Co worker told me to keep reading!!
Mostly 50 pages but a very favorite author I’ll try 100. Seldom does that happen with a favorite.
5 chapters.
A chapter, maybe 2. I don’t force something, ever. I refuse to ruin my reading time. I give it a second chance in the future, as it may have been me and not the book.
50 -75 pages…
75 pages
2 or 3 chapters, then I move on to another book.
If there is bad language on the first page, I’m done. But I usually read a couple of chapters. If I don’t like the main character, I can usually tell pretty quick.
Anywhere between 1-3 chapters.
100 pages
When I figure out it’s just not working, I give it one more chapter. Then – there’s no use staying in a relationship that isn’t going anywhere – so I choose a new book. ?
A few chapters.
I give it 50-100 pages, if it doesn’t catch my attention I drop it. So many books to read and so little time, so I don’t spend time on books I just don’t like!
Once you start you have to finish
I try to finish it with the hope it will.get better. And I was thinking of the author who.slog day and night to write it.
Depends on length and what is stopping you from enjoying. A Quarter
I give it up when my husband tells me that I obviously don’t like it, because I’ve interrupted his reading too often. Hahaha
Then I decide that I simply don’t prefer that writing style and move on.
I give a book 2 tries or a couple of chapters that’s it
50-100 pages, depending on how long the book is. you don’t have to finish everything you start.
“Reader’s Bill of Rights
1. The right to not read
2. The right to skip pages
3. The right to not finish
4. The right to reread
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to escapism
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right to browse
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to not defend your tastes”
― Daniel Pennac
Usually tossed if I’m not feelin’ it by the fourth chapter. There are some really exceptional books that don’t grab you right off the bat, so give it a chance.
25-50 pages
same
I rarely give up on them….hate that….but I’m picky when I get them to start with….
Me too! ? I sometimes wish I could put them down, but some I was glad I completed.
Been years since I gave up on one….but been tempted!
The few I put down …I kept to try again.
A couple of tries, then start skipping pages to see if it gets better. I always read the end, sometimes it makes me want to go back and see how they got to the end.
Oftentimes, the last half of a book makes trudging thru the first half worthwhile. I most certainly read more than a few chapters.
100 pages. I call it the 100 page rule.
Till i finish.
It depends on the review. If I find that if others also couldn’t get into it, I’ll dump it. I don’t read enough, to read crap.
no matter how bad it is I finish
I give it several chapters and then I put it down. I blame myself and will pick up the book later down the road.
25-30 % of the book to feel I gave it a fair shot. Some stories are sometimes slow to get going but pick up in the 2nd half of the book. I hate quitting on a book…I always feel guilty 🙁
Me too!
Life is short, you don’t have to finish a book when there are so many other good ones to read.
That’s how I feel too.
50 pages generally
50-60 pages.
50 pages and no more. Any more than that is time wasted, especially when you have a to-read list as long as mine.
I don’t know…there’s a few that I read over 100 pages before I got hooked….and ended up liking the book, but I have issues with having to finish. OCBFD..(obsessive compulsive book finishing disorder?).
It is sometimes hard for me to accept I am not into a book. I just quit a book and I was about 1/3 of the way in…it was about a 600 page book. I like it, just right now not able to get interested in it and due back into the library in a week and knew it just not happening! I have quit others after the first chapter. Just depends on my reason. There are just too too many books in the world to waste time on one not enjoying. And you can always go back at another time!
I have some I didnt finish, but ..like you, I feel like I like it, just not now. I can quit reading IF I plan to try again later.?
50 pages and then I give up.
Sometimes if I can read them I get them on audio and that helps alot
A few pages lol. I need to get hooked immediately ??♀️ too many other good books I could be reading!
50-60 pages for sure! The very beginning may not seem like Your cup of tea but by page 60 it may change your mind!
Couple of chapters but mostly I keep going praying it gets better but never does!
60-100 pages then I am out. But I try again another year?
100 pages, unless it’s clearly too painful lol. Turtles all the way down…..just couldn’t.do.it.
I will read it anyway. Just because I need to know what happened
I have a weird, I have to finish what I start thing. I hate it. I will put a book down hating and and say to heck with this and then 3 weeks later it’s haunting me and I have to finish it. I don’t even care what happens in the end, I just have to finish.
A few pages. I’m looking for that ah! feeling, the immersive experience.
agree!
10%. If I can’t get into by 10% I’ll DNF. Too many books I love to sit and suffer through one I don’t.
Oh I’m so glad to hear others not always getting into a book. I feel guilty if I don’t finish. Which is weird because no one knows I didn’t finish. I’m trying to read Paris to the Moon. It is so dry. I put it down. Read a Nora Roberts instead which I do not normally read. Read it in one day. Now reading The Descendents. I do not know if I will finish that book or not. But now I will feel better about it cause I am not alone. Thank you ladies.
I’ve gotten a lot better about putting down the snoozers. I used to slog through to the end. Now if I’m not in by page 100 I’m done. For me, that’s progress.
Less time than I used to! lol. Too many good books and not enough time.
50 pages – sometimes a little more — there are just too many great books out there. I am not going to waste my time.
I quit reading Life of Pi & would have missed how incredible it was if my mom hadn’t insisted I finish. Other books I gave a second chance: the Kite Runner, the English Patient. It would have been tragic to miss out on them.
A few pages or couple of chapters and that’s it for me. Life is to short.
I used to keep reading, but once I almost gave up on page 562 of a 575 page book. I should have. I give books 50 to 60 pages now. Sometimes I give them a second chance, but that doesn’t usually help.
I drop a book every time if the horse or dog gets killed, lol
if I cant get into it the first or second chapter I am done 🙂
A few chapters I’ve decided to not list as currently reading until I’m sure its readable that way I should have an accurate list of books read by years end
Michener taught me about sticking through a tedious beginning.
In my opinion, if the writer doesn’t arrest the reader’s attention before the 50 page mark, he or she has failed to uphold the writer/reader contract. I am unforgiving about this, because my time is valuable and my to-read list miles long. .
About 50 pages or a couple of chapters
Thank you all for commenting- I’m giving this book a break and trying something else!
Every book is not for every reader.
I can make it through 100 pages, but occasionally, I will continue to read, hoping it will get better. That rarely
Happens.
50 to 100 pages.
I put it back on the shelf and read others. When I am ready I try again. If I can’t get another 50 pages in its gone. I find a lot of times it was just I was not in the mode for it and then zoomed through it when I went back to it.
I confess that I’m pretty much a kindle reader. So anything that doesn’t grab me by the time the sample is done. Although some of my favorite reads are samples I went back to.